Ten Resources for the Papal Conclave

Somehow I’ve given off the impression that I’m the teensiest bit interested in the Papal Conclave happenings which are set to begin this Tuesday.  I don’t know whatever may have given that impression.  It’s not like I… oh, wait.

Perhaps it was my incessant Twitter/Facebook postings. (Not a follower on Twitter?  There’s a quick fix for that.  Not a Facebook fan?  You can remedy that right here.)

Or maybe it’s the fact that I ordered myself a pair of red loafers in honor of the pontiff-to-be.

Hello, gorgeous.

OK, fine.  The rumors are true.  I’m running for Vice President of the Conclave Fan Club.  I’m organizing my own version of Conclave Obsession Week.  I am unapologetically into this conclave business.

Anyway, since the jig is up and all my friends (Catholic and non-Catholic) have taken to sending me interesting things about the papacy/conclave, I thought it would be fun to gather all my resources in one place.  Possibly this is redundant for you, but I hope you find something new.  I’ve broken them down into 4 categories: Learn About the Conclave, News and Updates, Prayer, and Just for Fun.

Make sure to add your resources in the comments section!  Honey child, you KNOW I got time fo’ dat.

Learn About the Conclave:

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Electing the Pope is a brand spanking new website dedicated to answering all kinds of questions about the papal election process.  Technically I’m a contributor there, but since I’m so lazy busy, I’ve yet to write a word for it.  The site is excellent, though, and full of reliable info.  While it is hosted by a Catholic writer (Holla, Dorian!) all the answers I’ve seen on there are informational and it’s intended to be helpful to everyone, not just Catholics.

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Here’s a fun little video about How to Become the Pope.  (It sounds like it’s narrated by the guy from the BrainPop videos.  I don’t think it’s a Catholic resource, but it appears to be factually correct.)

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I found these gorgeous and informational printouts from Catholic News Service.

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If you’re a homeschooler you’ve probably already seen the lapbook by Shower of Roses.  But have you seen this beauty?  A Contemplative Homeschool: Matthew 16 and the Papal Conclave for Kids?  Whoa!  Great stuff there.  You certainly don’t have be a homeschooler, or do each and every part in order to teach your child something.  In fact, I've learned a ton from both of those posts!

Do you have a blog post about the conclave or the papacy?  Share the link in the comments section!

News and Updates:

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Want to stay up to date with the Vatican news?  The iPope App is great!  It has live webcams of St. Peter’s Square and other places, news updates from the Vatican, videos of the Sistine Chapel make-over, and all kinds of other goodies.

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I am so so hoping to see the black smoke/white smoke signals from the Sistine Chapel.  Therefore, I’ll be sleeping with my iPad next to my head during the conclave so as not to miss updates from Pope Alarm.  They send out an email blast as soon as the smoke rises from the Sistine Chapel chimney.  If you live in the U.S. you can choose to get it by text, as well!

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Can I make a little request here?  Please don’t watch secular news sources for conclave information.  Honestly, they’re far from being unbiased about Catholics and Catholicism, and they often say ridiculously erroneous things.   You may be opposed to Catholic news sources in general, but this one case where the Catholic news outlets certainly have the one-up on CNN et al.  At the very very very least, fact-check secular news sources.

Facebook pages to follow for news:  News.VA English, CNS, EWTN. Twitter accounts to follow: @MattSwaim, @EWTN, @CatholicNewsSvc, @FrRobertBarron, and for fun @PapalSmokestack .  Do you have other suggestions?  Here’s a list of all the cardinals who tweet, although they will go dark á la Jack Bauer once the conclave begins.

Prayers:

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Dear Catholics and Christians the world over:

The conclave NEEDS YOUR PRAYERS.  Catholics believe the cardinals will be guided by the Holy Spirit, but they are still fallible men!  Pray that the will of God is done in this conclave and that the cardinals can work together with each other under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to find a humble, courageous, and wise leader for our Church.

Here’s a simple prayer for children:

Heavenly Father, please guide the cardinals as they seek a new leader for our Holy Church.  Give them wisdom and courage to elect the most capable man, and let him accept this duty as a gift of service to you and all the Catholic faithful.

And a more detailed ones for adults:

Source

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If you’d like to, you can Adopt a Cardinal!  Don’t worry, you won’t have to clothe or feed him!  You just pray specifically for your guy in the time leading up to and during the conclave.  This website randomly draws a name for you.

I have Cardinal Sistach from Barcelona (shout out to España, my home away from home away from home!) and the girls are going to draw theirs tomorrow.  And wouldn’t it be uber-awesome if the cardinal you prayed for became our next Papa?  Heck yeah, it would!

Just for Fun:

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Love sports?  Got a March Madness bracket all lined up?  How’s about a Pope Bracket?  You know you want to!

This is by no means a definitive list, so please share your resources in the comments section!

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Shout out to Angie! I'm linking up for the first time with Many Little Blessings for Top Ten Tuesday!